SURVEYING NATURAL POPULATIONS
SUMMER A 2005, TuTh 11:00 - 12:00
PC 331
1 credit
Combined sections of:
BSC 5935 TOPICS IN BIOLOGY, SECT. U02A, Class Nbr 55904
GLY 5655 TOPICS IN PALEOBIOLOGY, SECT. U01A, Class Nbr 55906
SYLLABUS
Course Description and Objectives
This course provides the forum of a
discussion group for reading the statistics book Surveying Natural
Populations. The book is not for statisticians - it doesn't offer
mathematical proofs. It is for "field biologists and conservation biologists
with marine or terrestrial specialities and for site managers, paleontologists
and archeologists. No prior statistical knowledge is assumed, and only a
familiarity with, or not an aversion to, algebra is required. It can be used at
many levels: 1) Serious students can learn biological and statistical principles
fundamental to sound quantitative surveys. 2) Experienced researchers can, for
the first time in a single readable source, find the underlying statistical
theory for their commonly used field approaches. 3) Graduate students and
researchers can discover many new relationships, derivations and measures that
can open new research areas suggested throughout the book. For field researchers
in natural systems, this book is a reference, a text, a tool, and a guide."
The role of discussion leader will rotate among the members of the group and will consist of briefly stating what the chapter covers, and then providing the general topics for discussion. Grading is solely on the basis of attendance and reading the assigned chapters (see chart below). This format is designed to eliminate the pressures of performance so that you can focus more on the content.
Course Outline
| Date | Topic | Assigned Reading | Discussion Leader |
| May 10 | Organizational meeting | --- | Laurie |
| May 12 | Introduction, Density: Mean and Variance | Chapters 1 & 2 | Mike |
| May 17 | Normal and Sampling Distributions for Fieldwork | Chapter 3 | Barbie |
| May 19 | Confidence Limits and Intervals for Density | Chapter 4 | Lizette |
| May 24 | How Many Field Samples? | Chapter 5 | Camilo |
| May 26 | Spatial Distribution: The Power Curve | Chapter 6 | Robin |
| May 31 | Field Sampling Schemes |
Chapter 7: 113-133 |
Laurie |
| Chapter 7: 133-152 | Ania | ||
| June 2 | Species Proportions: Relative Abundances |
Chapter 8: 153-175 |
Gita |
| Chapter 8: 175-202 | Sreepat | ||
| June 7 | Species Distributions |
Chapter 9: 203-234 |
Kia |
| Chapter 9: 234-263 | Jie | ||
| June 9 | Regression: Occurrences and Density | Chapter 10 | Rudy |
| June 14 | Species Occurrences | Chapter 11 | Fabian |
| June 16 | Species Diversity: The Number of Species | Chapter 12 | Cassandra |
| June 21 | Diversity Indices | Chapter 13 | Chad |
| June 23 | SHE Analysis | Chapter 14 | John |
Textbook
Hayek, Lee-Ann, and Buzas, Martin A., 1997, Surveying Natural Populations: Columbia University Press, NY, 563 pp. For comparison, a new paperback is $33.50 + shipping from the publisher.
Class Format and Grading
We meet 13 times this semester to discuss the readings. Every week before coming to class you should read the assignment and be prepared to discuss it. Your grade is based on the following scale:
| A | Miss 1-2 classes OR neglect to do 1-2 readings |
| B | Miss 3 classes OR neglect to do 3 readings |
| C | Miss 4 classes OR neglect to do 4 readings |
| D | Miss 5 classes OR neglect to do 5 readings |
| F | Miss 6 classes OR neglect to do 6 readings |
Instructor: Dr. Laurel Collins, collinsl@fiu.edu, (305) 348-1732. Office hours in PC 435: by appointment.